


The Curvy Path That Lies Ahead

by ThaliaSFresh



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Child Neglect, Developing Friendships, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Drama, F/M, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hope, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Jacob Grayson needs a hug, Malnutrition, Parent Bruce Wayne, Parent Dick Grayson, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Prison, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Secret Children, Team as Family, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaliaSFresh/pseuds/ThaliaSFresh
Summary: Dick Grayson is going through it. He is recovering from the horror Tarantula put him through, and still trying to find the courage to tell his fiancé the truth of what happened 7 and a half years ago when he was just 17 and 3 months. Now, at 24, with a life, a steady relationship, a baby on the way, friends, and hope in his future, he is able to move forward.But what happens if a little boy named Jacob Grayson is dropped at his front door step with nothing but some legal documents, a suitcase, and a troubling story. How will Dick handle this impossible task, and what will he tell his fiancé? Find out below!I will update once or twice a week, or depending on comments! Not sure how long this story will be, yet! Let me know when y'all get bored of it, lol.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	1. Jacob Grayson

**Author's Note:**

> I have no reader, so just let me know if I messed anything up. This is a touchy topic so please proceed with caution!

Everyday Richard Grayson wakes up proud.

He is proud of the life he has created for his family. He is proud of how far he has come from his circus days. He is proud that he can make someone else as happy as he is.

He tries everyday to make sure the people in his life are fully aware of how much he cares for them. He needs them to know.

So if you asked him if he would want to change anything about his life, he would kindly tell you no. That he is in awe of how his predicament has been working out, and would like to keep the uphill, well, up.

Little did he know everything he knew about himself, about what happened to himself almost. On a cold, November morning in Blüdhaven, at around 5am, he knew nothing would be the same. He knew that all his secrets would have to come to light.

**NWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNWNW**

Dick’s P.O.V.

*Knock*. *Knock*.

Kori and I woke up abruptly to startling and abrasive knocks coming from the front door of the little, two story home in Blüdhaven.

Kori shot up as I adjusted to the dim light that was taking over our room from the morning sun. ‘I should really get some blackout blinds soon.’

“I’ll go get it babe, stay asleep. I will be right back.”

She looks up at me, almost uncomprehending what I am saying, I can’t really blame her, this is one of our first days off from both work and the league, so we had stayed up pretty late and just enjoyed each other's company. I really love this woman, I can see the raised lump in our bed, where she holds our baby who will come to this world in around May.

Kori drops her head to the pillows dramatically and I can’t help but chuckle.

I shake my head, as more knocking ensues, I remember why I am up in the first place. I need to answer the door, not adore my soon to be wife. We had planned to get married eventually, but the coming of our little one sped up the process. So now we are getting married in January.

I tiptoe out the door and put some slippers on, on the way out. The house can get real cold when it has settled for hours on end.

When I walk down our two flights of stairs, and go to the door, I look out the peephole, and it is definitely not because I'm slightly scared as to why someone is knocking on our door at 5 am. Killers, burglars, and villains don’t knock, right? I am pretty sure I’m right.

What I see surprised me, though. I see a child, probably 4 years old, just standing out in the cold November air. I open the door, still a little shocked. When I get a good look at him, I see his suitcase and him holding some papers.

The most striking thing about him, though, is the terrified look in his eyes.

His eyes are slightly hollowed, his lips are chapped, and his blue eyes, irisis’ as blue as mine, are hidden by his long eyelashes. He has super dark brown hair and a nice tan, but what threw Dick off the most, was that this kid reminded him of someone, he just couldn’t put his finger on it right now.

“Okay kid, you’re gonna get pneumonia if you keep standing out there, come on in!” He still looks down and shuffles in, not saying a word. What an odd child. “Let’s get you warmed up, fed and put to bed, we will deal with this once you don’t look like you’ll fall over.” I chuckled at that, but the boy barely acknowledged me.

“For someone looking for help, you sure do know how to ask for it.” I said, while moving around the kitchen. I was making us some nice hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. I added a bowl of cereal for Little Man to have, too. He just looked so hungry.

I have seen hurt kids, and this one definitely fits the bill. He is scrawny and bruised and terrified. But Dick knows how brave he is, to have been able to search for an out. That tends to be the hardest part for anyone, children or adults. It seems like there is almost a natural Stockholm Syndrome to them, especially children since they don’t know any better.

Once the kid was fed and warm, in one of my big hoodies, since I don’t really have anything else for him to wear.

“So, kid, what’s your name? Where are you from?”

The kid FINALLY looked up at him, and Dick was at a loss of words. The kid looked like his dad. Almost no mistaking it. But he had to, he has only slept with Kori. He must be going crazy, maybe the kid was just Romani, too.

“I..” The kid started.

“You?”

“I am Jacob and I am runaway. I didn’t want to live with my mother anymore. She is so mean and she stinks and I hate it there. So I packed everything I thought of, and found these papers with my name on it and then I ran and then… And then… I-” The kid said so much in one breath, Dick was kind of impressed.

“Okay Jacob, I know this is hard, but you did good, okay. I am proud of you for making this decision, it won’t be easy, but I will help you, okay? No more running. No more hurt.”

“I- I came here because, when we drive by here, mother says you live here. And she said, she said you’re my dad. So I came here.”

Umm, excuse me. I'm what? To who? This has to be a mistake. Who knows I live here? Kori and I tried so hard to be normal and discrete.

“I don’t think your mom was being real honest with you, Jay. I think she just knows my name.”

He looks at me confused. Almost disbelieving.

“But mother said! I am not lying. I… PLEASE believe me. I can’t go back with her! I can’t.” Jacob ends in a whisper.

Everything he is saying just seems too old to be coming from his lips. He truly believes everything he told me, without a shadow of a doubt.

“My mom told me these are important, but I can’t really read.” Jacob hands me some of the papers he was holding earlier.

My heart stops as I read it.

Certificate of Birth 

_New Jersey_

**This Certifies That The Child**

Jacob Mateo Grayson

**Was Born To**

Catalina Flores **And** Richard Grayson

**On**

December 1, 1997

**At**

16:27

**Weight**

4 Pounds 10 Ounces

**Length**

17 Inches

**In**

Blüdhaven, NJ

To say I was shocked would be an understatement, I am baffled. Caught off guard. And mostly, horrified. How could she do this? Catalina is really the most disgusting grim of this Earth. She withheld my own son from me and made him endure years of hurt. And from the looks of it his son is almost 6, born on the same day as him.

So on top of everything, she didn’t even feed the child correctly. Or take care of him. If he was born in December, then he should be around full term, yet he was born so small. And still is tiny. Jacob was born almost exactly nine months to the day of my… of the incident.

“Wow, okay Jacob. Okay… Okayokayokayokay.” What do I say, this child is mine. He looks just like me and my dad, luckily the only thing from Catalina he got was her brown hair, and even that was leaning more towards the blue black of his family's hair.

What do I do now?

“Okay, Jay, so this is what we are going to do. I am gonna make up the guest room and you will sleep there. Then, after you wake up we will start to figure this stuff out. How does that sound?”

“Good.” He said it in such a small voice, I almost missed it.

“Alrighty, buddy. Let’s get you to bed?”

Now he has to explain this to his fiance!


	2. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick comes clean to Kori about what happened to him 7 years ago. Jake and Dick have a talk about love. 
> 
> Sorry this is so long!

Third Person P.O.V.

“So there is a kid in our guest room.” 

When Dick thinks back on it he probably should have said it more delicately. 

“What do you mean, the only kid is in my belly. I do not understand how she could be out?” Kori spoke so confused. Her human always said silly things, but not usually confusing ones.

“She?” I said, despite myself.

“Our half is a girl. A mother always knows.” Kori said it so surely, Dick believed it. Though, he secretly wanted a girl, too.

It was around 9 in the morning and Kori was getting ready for her day. She was almost done, just brushing her hair, so Dick decided now was a good time to tell her about Jacob. He was also done getting ready and could not sit alone with his thoughts on how he is going to tell her anymore.

“Kori… Could you sit down and just listen to me real quick?” Dick sounded so nervous. She sat down next to him on their bed.

“Okay? What is this all about?” 

The concern in his fiance’s voice almost pushed him to tears. Talking like this was hard for her emotional side. It sucked so much having to tell her this part of him. He was mostly past the whole Blockbuster death, but definitely not his assault. He doesn’t ever talk about it, so of course she would not know. Only his family knew, and that was because he was having concerning thoughts and knew he needed help. 

When he got with Kori and wasn’t able to have sex at first, she was fine with it. She said that there is no agenda to love, and that she can wait. It made Dick love her even more. Thinking about his rape made him realize a lot of important characteristics about sex, consent, and being taken advantage of. 

He would never do that to anyone. Especially Kori. Ever.

He understood first hand the weakness you feel, physically and mentally.

“Do you remember, when I was really young, I used to work with Catalina Flores?” He spit the name out in disgust and annoyance. She just couldn’t leave him alone. It was aggravating.

“I do remember reading about that partnership, Dick?” Although she answered, it was said in a questioning way, as if to hurry him along without actually telling him that. 

“So, you know how she killed Blockbuster?” Another nod. “Well, back then my mind was really messed up. I didn’t realize it wasn’t my fault. It definitely felt like I had killed him, even though I did not pull the trigger.” 

Kori took his hand. His voice was strong and story clear, but she just felt pulled to comfort him. Her poor Dick.

“You would never kill on purpose, and I swear to you, I would stop you if you ever got close. I love you Dick.” Kori said, her way of saying it’s not his fault.

“I love you, too, Kori. So very much.” He pecked her.

She already knew this. She still loved hearing it, though.

Then he started worrying on his lip. All the thoughts and scenarios he conjured up in his head fleeting him in his moment of need. He didn’t know how to say this in a way that was sensitive to himself and Kori.

“Back when I was around 17, on the night she killed Blockbuster, Catalina started talking to me and touching me and leading me. I was in such shock from another person dying in front of me that my mind just went away. I could see and feel and hear, but my mind couldn’t process the fact that Blockbuster was dead.” 

Kori was rubbing his back, even though his voice never wavered, she already knew where this conversation was going. 

“She took me to the top of a building and she… she r-raped me.” Dick could hardly get that word out. He has only said it a couple of times outloud. He tends to use the word ‘assaulted’ but she needs to understand how far it went. Why that was important to the story.

So Dick cleared his throat and shook his head. He gripped Kori’s hand tightly.

“And as a result, she birthed my child, who I just found out about last night when he came to our home afraid, abused, and hungry.” 

Kori was definitely not expecting that. So her soon-to-be husband was raped as a kid, terrible. And the woman who did it, did not have the decency to protect them, and now Dick has an illegitimate child.

That is definitely some news for a Thursday.

“Richard, look at me when I tell you this.” He slowly looked up, no tears were in his eyes, but the way his hand shook and fingers gripped hers, she knew he was hurting.

“I love you so much, hunny, I know what happened to you was not your fault. Your life has been so unfair and unkind to you, and you did not do anything to deserve such an unlawful act. I am so happy you told me, I am sure that was not easy.”

Kori and Dick stare at each other, just soaking up their situation and their love. Dick knew Kori wouldn’t be made at him, that’d be irrational, but he also is still disgusted with the event. He wished it never happened.

If Catalina never assaulted him, Jacob would have never been abused. But that would also mean Jacob would not have been born. And Dick knows that is unfair to say. His son is just in the next room in the same house.

His son.

How terrible a world he is in.

“I am going to go check up on him. I am sure he is nervous. Whatever Catalina has done to him has left him bruised and starved.” Dick is so angry that the mother of his son couldn’t even be bothered to care for her son. It was annoying, why carry the child then.

Dick left those thoughts before they could overtake his mind.

“The poor boy. Go do what you have to Huns. I’ll start breakfast and get your dad up to date?” 

“What would I do without you Kori?” Dick sighs, grateful he will not have to be the one to disappoint his father. Bruce already didn’t like that they were pregnant without being married, but he loved them enough to look past it. 

“We will never find out.” Kori winks and finishes getting ready. 

Dick goes to their bathroom and gets the spare toothbrushes they have for when they switch out every three months. He goes to the guest room and knocks. He sees a little figure wrapped in the soft Ugg blanket on the bed, his small chest rising and falling, with bags still under his eyes. 

The poor boy still looked exhausted.

Dick got to his knees beside the bed and called his son's name gently, palpitating the mattress so his body moved without Dick touching it. 

“Jacob! Jake! Jakey-Jakey eggs and bakey! Get up, Jay!” 

The boys eyes shot open and were unseeing for a second. He let out a scratch and scrambled to the borner of the bed against the wall, his hand forward and his body taut. 

“Hey buddy, it’s just me. Dick, you know me. You came to my house early this morning.”

“Dad?”

Okay, wow.   
  
  


Unexpectedly, part of Dick’s heart may have just burst. He has been waiting for the day his child says that to him, and now it is happening. In all its glory.

“Yeah, son. It’s dad. And you’re at your new home. Everything is alright now.” Dick tried to be reassuring without squealing like a child.

It just hit him, he will now be the father of a 6 year old at 24. How weird.

“Come here champ. I promise I will never hurt you.”

Jay looked up at his dad, tears still in his distant and scared eyes. He crawls over to his dad, who is now sitting on the bed. Once Jake is close enough, he throws his body onto Dick, hands under his armpits and head by his heart. A true devastation reigns. 

“It’ll be okay buddy. I swear. Just let it all out.” Dick picked the child up, set him in his arms and started to rock and rub his back. He looked up towards the ceiling as he started to hum his mother’s favorite Robinbird song. It was gentle and reassuring.

“I like when you call me Jake.”

After 30 minutes like this Jake feels ready to let go and Dick stand them both up.

“Alright son, today will probably be pretty busy, and maybe a little overwhelming, but it is important. You wanna live here with me, right?” Jake nods. “Okay, then we will need to get the process started.” 

Dick helps Jake clean up and put on a new hoodie, before telling him what to expect.

“Okay Jake, my wife is downstairs, she has green eyes, so don’t be surprised when you see her, she is part alien!” Jake looks wowed.

“When I was little, my mom started experimenting on me. She wanted me to be like Superman.” Jake responded. “And it kind of worked, not all the way, but sort of. I can blast things with my hands, take energy from electricity, and fly.” 

Jake said these pretty sadly. Normally if you could fly that would be really cool!

“Oh. That’s okay Jake, even if you weren’t born that way, I love you just the same.”

“You… You love me? Are you sure? Mother said I can’t be loved.” Jake said it so matter-of-fact, so truly, that Dick knows he believes it.

If he gets his hands on Catalina.

“I do love you, bud. I love you. The only reason you were with your mom is because she never told me about you. I would never let you be with someone as awful as her.” Dick tries to get Jake to understand, to know he means it. 

The little boy just puts on a knowing smile and Dick knows it's gonna be a process, but he won’t quit until his son knows it’s true.

“Let’s get breakfast then?” Dick said solemnly.

  
  



	3. Just A Little Piece Of Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing big this chapter. Just some discussion of what has been going on in Jake's little mind. All Jake and Dick with a tiny splash of Bruce at the end! A bit of a feels trip though!

Chapter 3: Just A Little Piece Of Your Heart 

Dicks P.O.V. 

Jake has been with us for 3 days now, and it has been hard on him.

He tries his best to please, to do everything right, it looks so exhausting walking on the eggshells he trudges on. It must be.

I’ve been there.

And it makes me want to just wrap him up in hugs and positive words.

Bruce and Kori start getting everything ready for not only Jake, but our unborn baby. They’re on the lookout for Catalina, who was not in the house the boy led them to. She is on the run again.

Kori and I try our best to show Jake he can be normal around us. That he doesn’t have to be perfect or quiet or scared. The only 3 rules were:

  1. Don’t leave the house alone.
  2. Get us if you have a nightmare or need anything.
  3. Relax.



These rules sometimes caused Jake stress, because he wanted to be perfect for us. The poor boy doesn't know another way of life. 

He has filled out a lot in the 3 days, his cheeks aren’t hollow and his skin is reaching its peak tan. I bet a lot of the illness he looked like he had was just a combination of fear, frustration, and fasting. Jake told us his mom withheld food a lot, on accident. 

Supposedly she would leave him for a day or two and he was too little and his body was too weak to reach the cabinets. 

Jake looked so much better now that he can relax. Being 6 aint supposed to be hard.

Jacob P.O.V. 

This home is interesting. 

Dad has a wife, which is weird, because my mom said she was his wife. 

Well, an almost wife.

But dad said that was a lie. He said a lot of what mom told me was a lie. 

Grown-ups say a lot of things.

Sometimes though, and I know dad would be mad, but I want to go back to mom. I feel lost without her. I feel wrong and unimportant without her. And I don’t know what to do, or why I feel this way. 

I feel confused.

But don’t get the wrong idea, I love it here. As weird as my dad and his family are, like how they always tip toe in the house, trying to be really quiet, I still love them. Anyway, I think they’re just practicing for a baby, a little girl named Mar’i Star Grayson. 

So dad said if I am going to be her big brother, I cannot keep stuff about mom a secret, but I didn’t know much. He wants to know how often we walk or drive by his home. 4. How many days a week I would go to school. 0. And even how often I eat, which was hard. “Whenever mom fed me?” He would always reply, “when was that?” “I don’t know.”

I don’t know a lot of things.

Like I don’t know why dad looks so sad. Why he keeps apologizing for mom. Or why he says he loves me everytime he sees me. Or why he holds me until I fall asleep. Or why he says “You don’t know Pokemon!? No son of mine will go his whole childhood without cards!” And then he would laugh, so I would too, but nothing was funny.

Dad was just so nice.

But Mrs. Kori is weird. 

She kisses my cheeks and says she loves me, that I am her big boy. And I like it a lot. I always wanted my own mom to say it, but Dad and Mrs. Kori are easier to please.

They say they just want honesty and a growing son. 

I can do that! If there is one thing I could do, it is eat! Even though mom didn’t feed me until I was full, here they let me have whatever is in the kitchen. 

Dad calls it, “Free reign”.

Third Person 

Dick was getting worried. 

Jacob had been in his room all day. Not a single time had he come out. Dick knew the occasionally Jake would get lost in thoughts of his past, and get frightened for hours if Dick disrupts him.

So Dick knew he had to wait.

But once Jake had missed breakfast and lunch, Dick’s concern grew. Jake was never distressed for over 5 hours.

So he got up from the living room and marveled in his handiwork. He cleaned the entire house because he was so excited to have his son here. Had he been told about Jake Mateo Grayson the months following his assault, Dick isn’t sure he would have made it through. 

Dick was still trying to convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming, his son is right here and he is fine and safe and Catalina is in the wind for now. So Dick knows he should relish in the waves of storms given to him right now.

But it was easy to get caught up and drown.

“Hey Jakey? Can I come in?” Dick had asked Jake gently from the other side of the door.

The boy isn’t particularly skittish, he is more distant. He does startle, just not like Dick had expected when he heard of abuse victims. Like he is thinking about saying something, but just holds back. Like he wants to voice himself so bad, but settles for a few words. Besides that first night Jake hasn’t really talked all that much. 

And Dick wants to say it’s fine, but that is so out of character for both him and Catalina. 

Dick just wants his son to be okay, or to speak to him when he is not okay.

“Hey Jake, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while!” Dick tried to have a cheery voice, to show that everything is okay. But when he looks at Jake, _really_ looks at him, he can see the crying.

The boy looks like a deer caught in headlights.

He hurriedly tries to wipe his face, trying in vain to stifle his shuddering breath.

“Oh Jacob, what’s wrong, son?” 

“I-” Jacob tries, but his voice gives. Even though this breaks Dicks’ heart, he is thankful when his son lets himself be held. This was his favorite part of the day, holding his child close to his heart.

“It’s okay buddy. Dad’s here, nobody can get you. You are so fine. So safe and loved and protected.” When Dick said these things, he really meant it. Although it made him cringe slightly, he knows his son needs to hear it. 

“I miss my mom.” Jacobs' little broken voice said. 

And Dick had to do a double take. He missed his mom? Catalina Flores, the women who raped his father (not that the kid knew), the women who starved him, the women who hit him, and the women who caused both the males in her life unaltered pain.

His son missed that?

Dick had to take a gigantic breath, and just breathe out softly through his nose, because no, his son is not going to be made the bad guy, he is only six.

“You miss her? Can you tell me what you miss, bud?” Dick said softly, scared that if he rejected Jake now, he wouldn’t start the hard process of opening up for a long time.

“I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW. I WANT MY MOM! I WANT MY MOM!” Jacob screeched. Dick had never had to deal with his own child screaming, and he now knows he never wants to hear it again.

Jacob cries and screams and hits and coughs for fifteen whole minutes, but he allows his dad to hold him through it all.

When Jacob finally gets too tired to cry, Dick just continues to rock him. Eventually he is calmed down enough to take a deep calming breath and just take in his changes.

“Jake, I know this is scary. You did such a good thing to seek out your dad for help. So good. Mommy was a bad person, okay? People that love you don’t make you ask for simple things like food. They take care of you and you grow big and strong.” Dick says. He isn’t sure what to do in this situation. He is known for being the calming and loving brother or friend, but being a father was something he thought he would ease into.

Jake just nods and Dick shoos him off to go take a shower.

30 minutes later Dick had a clean shirt and food ready for Jake when he got out the shower. 

“...and then he just started sobbing and screaming. I didn’t know what to do, Bruce. He was so hurt. But he also wanted his mom back.” Dick ran a hand through his hair and shook himself free of the negative thoughts.

Jake would rather be with his abusive mother than him.

“That sounds like Flores did a good job at making a trauma bond with him. That’s not on you son, that’s on her. He is a kid, he depended on her for everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if he developed a type of Stockholm Syndrome from her.” Bruce stated. Always factual and right.

“That… makes sense.” Dick sighed, he didn’t want it to make sense, but he has been having to just roll with the punches lately. 

“Thanks dad!” Dick said as he went to hang the phone up. He was caught by surprise when he saw his son looking at him sheepish and embarrassed. 

“What’s up buddy?” Dick said gently.

“Nothing, I just, love you… is all.” Jake says, scuffing his foot on the hardwood.

It has been hard to get the kid to say it too often, but when he did Dick’s heart fluttered endlessly. 

Especially how emotionally exhausting today had been for Jake, it made Dick proud that he cleared his mind in the shower.

“I love you, too, Jakey.” Dick spoke softly. 

They both smiled gently at each other and then they both sat down to eat some Chicken and dumplings soup with a side of cucumber salad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like the chapters single spaced of double spaced!


End file.
